Istanbul

Marriages that have lasted for decades reach a turning point once the children have grown and flown from the nest. This phenomenon is familiar all over Europe. The ex-husband often remarries, while the ex-wife remains alone. Is there hope for a woman over fifty to start anew?

In our story a man leaves his middle-aged wife after thirty years of marriage. KATALIN’s crisis is received with indifference by friends and family alike. Her environment considers her mentally ill, and she is taken to a hospital where she is sedated. Her husband and daughter both think she is feigning this temporary hysterical condition. She is a burden to them, and they are ashamed of her. Katalin runs away from the hospital, and making a spur of the moment decision heads for Istanbul. Her teenage son, ever the rebellious hero, follows his fleeing mother.
The boy is angry at his father and has a conflict with his sister as well.
In Istanbul Katalin’s destiny crosses paths with that of a lonely Muslim man. Newfound love liberates the woman’s emotions and she blooms, if only ephemerally: Her son’s unexpected appearance stirs her temper seething below the surface. In the disconcerted situation mother does not recognize son, as if attempting to eradicate her previous life completely. The boy has to solve the conflict in Istanbul.   

The basic questions the film raises are: if a person is deemed ill by his or her environment, is he or she really ill? Can an individual make independent decisions despite family binds? Does anyone have the right to fulfill one’s ego at the expense of others?